Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I work in an extremely peripheral part of the country. As an operator in the postal service, I welcome the legislation. It is inevitable that European legislation will allow for the final part of the deregulation of postal services. If it is not dealt with by national legislation and in an efficient manner in the Chamber, we will find ourselves in a situation where we have no control or management. It is important to manage the situation to maximise the legislation to the benefit of our consumers.

There are six or seven main provisions in the legislation that may be the source of serious concern to employees and consumers of An Post, particularly consumers in more remote rural areas where the service could come under the influence of cherry picking by the private sector. The designation of the universal service provider to An Post is a very important step in this legislation. To some degree, it gives a measure of protection to the company and, more importantly, it gives great protection to the consumer. Consumers in remote areas are worried that the terms of the legislation mean they will face three-day deliveries or severe disruption to postal deliveries. The designation of An Post as the universal service provider is a significant part of the legislation.

The expenditure incurred by An Post to provide for the universal service obligation is serious and must be reviewed on an ongoing basis. It may well be shipped by An Post at an early stage to attract potential users to the postal market. The margins are quite small and it is not attractive at the moment for potential investors and new users to enter the market. There is a major amount of legislation to be dealt with and it is not as attractive as one may first consider it. As the market becomes more deregulated, it is important that the expenditure incurred by An Post be examined with a view to levying the expenditure over the entire market to the new service users. If that is not appropriate, the Exchequer must take up the slack. We can try to provide a decent postal service for our consumers and a level playing field. The Minister outlined that the universal service obligation provides for a daily delivery and collection from every address in this State. It will be very difficult to achieve that if the legislation is not managed in an efficient manner.

The role of ComReg is an important feature of this legislation. It is right that ComReg is tasked with facilitating competition, setting standards, monitoring compliance, issuing directives to operators and discussing standards, pricing and pricing caps. It will be a challenge for ComReg to set up a regulatory system that can attract new postal operators while preserving the network in which An Post has invested. I refer specifically to the major volume of mail sorting facilities in the country, the mail delivery network and the An Post retail network, which is the largest retail and delivery network in the country. Many people gloss over the statistic that there is a presence in almost every town and village in this country. That was not done easily but was built up over decades. A major amount of technology has been developed in recent years. ComReg has the task of allowing new postal service users to piggyback on the network. It will be a difficult balancing act in terms of timing, agreements, compensation and remuneration and ensuring that, from the consumer's point of view, private operators do not try to cherry pick the most profitable parts of the business. No one in the Chamber supports the idea of an efficient service that leaves some parts of our country and our consumers without a minimal service. This might amount to a three-day week service. There are consequences for everyone and we should avoid that if we can.

ComReg will regulate many of the operators that have sprung up in every town and village over the past ten or 15 years. This applies particularly to parcels and packet services. I refer to companies with a turnover of less than €500,000. Will the register of service providers include operators with a turnover of less than €500,000? Will ComReg impose on those operators terms and obligations that may well put some of the smaller operators out of business? Even though they compete with An Post, they do so very efficiently and no one wants to see small rural and urban operators finding it onerous to continue in business because of a major amount of regulation by ComReg. We must bear this in mind.

The Bill also deals with the offences. I know many people who have worked with An Post and they are told very clearly about offences committed when one does not sail an even keel. It is not clear if the offences will be applied to every other postal service provider in this country. That is a very important point, particularly in respect of delaying, tampering, theft of mail and breaches of confidentiality that can only deeply hurt and affect the efficiency of postal services, irrespective of who provides the service. ComReg has an important role to play, as does the Garda Síochána and other State authorities. More clarity on this point would be helpful.

The provision of postcodes has been discussed in this Chamber over a number of years. I am concerned at the lack of clarity in the Bill. Much work has been done on introducing postcodes. Discussions on the Bill suggested it would provide efficiencies and quality benefits within the sector, stimulate mail volume growth, boost national competitiveness, address the problem of non-unique addressing, assist in the provision of public and private sector services, facilitate the entry of new postal operators to the Irish marketplace and bring Ireland in line with other international markets. While the Bill may to a small degree address all of these issues, I am concerned that a system without postcodes, while it may not work to everyone's advantage in terms of bringing about the type of vanity addresses some people would like and means we are of line with other European countries, will not provide us with economic advantages or stimulate the type of growth the national postcodes project board believes it will provide.

I am concerned about the misuse of postcodes. If a person dials an incorrect telephone number he or she will not contact the person he or she wants. However, I know from experience working in the postal service, that many people believe mail will get to the right person if the address they put on it is near enough to the correct one and, very often, it does. However, if the consumer does not use the postcode system properly we will lose the benefits of having it. The real crux of introducing a postcode system is the cost to be incurred by An Post, the Exchequer, ComReg or whoever will be tasked with implementing it. In this regard, while I am not sure of what will be the true cost I have heard mention of figures of in the region of €14 million and €20 million. In the current climate, this may, in terms of cost, appear a bit of a vanity. It is perhaps money that could be better spent in a more targeted manner.

We have a strong affinity with our townlands, particularly in rural areas. I am not sure if this is unique to Ireland. The reality is that postcodes in parts of our countryside will not provide a person with a unique address. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility to have three or four people with the same Christian and surnames living in the same townland. A postcode will not solve that problem. This is one of the biggest issues with which mail operators must deal on a daily basis. Some mornings, the post office is a bit like Scotland Yard in terms of trying to figure out to whom a particular piece of mail is to be delivered. Mail is often returned to sender because the addressee cannot be determined. While this may not be an issue for the GPO or the headquarters of any other postal operator it is one of the big issues on the ground in terms of resources and time.

The postcode system will not in most cases address the problem of non-unique addressing. It will also not address another issue which many operators experience in terms of delivering mail, namely, the use by many consumers of vanity addresses. These are addresses in a particular area wherein people would like to live rather than those in which they live. This happens quite often. Postcodes can often determine property prices or a person's chances of getting a good job, although I do not suggest this has happened. This issue must be addressed. There is a lack of clarity in the legislation in this regard.

I would prefer if more thought could be given to the issue of postcodes before a final decision is made. As a new Member, I am not sure if it is possible to provide for a moratorium on a particular section of a Bill following enactment. I am not sure of the procedure in that regard. On that issue alone, some questions remain to be answered.

When it comes to value for money, the charge could be made that we are on an ego trip in terms of spending money on a vanity project at a time when An Post, as a postal carrier, is making huge grounds with its next day delivery service. As I understand it, the figure in that regard is 90%. This has been achieved by way of finding more efficient ways of doing business, without the use of postcodes.

As regards the other provisions, many Members will be interested in the section dealing with free election post for candidates. However, it is not clear who will pay for this service. Will it be postal service provider or the Exchequer? I would like clarity on that issue.

The Minister when moving the Second Stage of the Bill stated that the postal service is under severe threat not alone from deregulation or competition - many people in the postal service embrace competition - but from the electronic mail service. Why not? One can send an e-mail with the touch of a button. More often than not such mail is correct, which is what we all want. I am disappointed that our postal service providers did not embraced the electronic mail service as quickly as they could have. The technology has been in place for decades and has been in use for the past ten years. This service would have provided greater relevancy to post offices, retail outlets and postal service providers. While the level of broadband connectivity in our homes is high, many people do not have access to it. Such people might avail of a service provided by libraries or post offices.

Post offices play a strong role in our communities. We need to tread careful with this legislation. I support its provisions and welcome deregulation and competition. If managed correctly, this legislation will be positive not alone for service providers but for communities.

As this is my first contribution in the Chamber I take this opportunity to thank the people of the constituency of Cork South West for placing their trust in me. I thank them sincerely for doing so. I hope I can live up to it.

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